Chapter 25 - I Do
At 4:18 p.m., I walked down the aisle.
Not the way anyone planned.
My original gown was back at the bridal suite.
My hair had fallen out of its careful waves.
There was dirt on one knee.
Lucian had a bandage above his eyebrow.
Gideon's tuxedo had blood on one cuff.
And it was perfect.
When the guests saw us, everyone stood.
No one knew whether to clap.
Then Naomi started.
One person joined.
Then ten.
Then all four hundred.
The applause became thunder.
I looked at Lucian waiting beneath an arch of white flowers.
His eyes never left mine.
My father walked beside me.
He had driven from Michigan the night before.
Our relationship was still imperfect.
But when Gideon told him Lucian was missing, Dad had refused to leave the venue.
“He'll come back,” he told me when I arrived.
For once, he had believed in my choice before I did.
At the altar, he kissed my cheek.
“I was wrong about your life.”
I swallowed.
“Which part?”
He smiled sadly.
“Most of it.”
Then he placed my hand in Lucian's.
The minister looked between us.
“I understand it has been an unusual morning.”
Laughter moved through the crowd.
Lucian whispered, “Understatement.”
I squeezed his fingers.
The ceremony began.
When it came time for vows, Lucian ignored the card Gideon handed him.
“I wrote something,” he said.
I smiled.
“And?”
“I don't need it.”
He looked at me.
“Harper, before you, every relationship in my life came with a contract. Every promise had conditions. Every alliance had consequences.”
His voice roughened.
“You were the first person who walked into my world owing me nothing.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“You challenged me when everyone else obeyed. You laughed when everyone else feared me. You looked at the walls I built and asked why I needed so many.”
Guests laughed softly.
“And then you built me a home.”
He squeezed my hands.
“I cannot promise you a quiet life.”
“Clearly.”
More laughter.
“But I promise no secret, no family, no company, no threat, and no fear will ever matter more than the truth between us.”
I wiped my cheek.
“My turn?”
He smiled.
I looked at the man I had accidentally texted because of one wrong digit.
“When I met you, I thought you were insane.”
Lucian raised an eyebrow.
“I still occasionally think that.”
The crowd laughed.
“I spent years making myself smaller for people who found my ambition inconvenient. Kyle wanted me quiet. My old firm wanted me grateful. Even my family sometimes wanted me easier.”
I looked directly into Lucian's eyes.
“You never asked me to become smaller.”
His expression softened.
“You were terrifyingly overprotective.”
“Were?”
“Fine. Are.”
Gideon coughed.
“But you respected my mind before you loved me. And when you did love me, you loved the parts other people tried to reduce.”
My voice cracked.
“You are not the safest decision I ever made.”
Lucian smiled.
“But you are the right one.”
The minister pronounced us husband and wife.
Lucian kissed me.
Four hundred people disappeared.
Chicago disappeared.
The investigations.
The council.
Mason.
Kyle.
Everything.
There was only Lucian.
My husband.
When we finally separated, Gideon leaned toward the minister.
“Is it legally complete?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
We all looked at him.
He checked his watch.
“The FBI would like Mr. Moretti's statement at seven.”
I stared.
“You're joking.”
Gideon's face remained serious for three seconds.
Then he smiled.
“Eight.”
I threw my bouquet at him.
He caught it.
The crowd erupted.
That night, beneath strings of lights overlooking Lake Michigan, Lucian and I danced barefoot.
Salvatore watched from a distant table.
My father laughed with Evelyn Caldwell.
Naomi flirted shamelessly with one of Lucian's corporate attorneys.
Even Kyle had sent a short message.
Congratulations.
No excuses.
No hidden request.
Just congratulations.
Near midnight, Lucian pulled me closer.
“Mrs. Moretti.”
I looked up.
“I'm keeping Delaney professionally.”
“I assumed.”
“Harper Delaney Moretti socially.”
“Acceptable.”
“Good.”
He kissed my forehead.
I rested my head against his chest.
We had survived betrayals, investigations, kidnappings, gunfire, and one extremely inconvenient wedding morning.
For the first time in months, nobody was chasing us.
Nobody was threatening us.
Nobody was calling.
Then Lucian's phone vibrated.
We both froze.
He looked at the screen.
I sighed.
“What now?”
He turned it toward me.
A calendar reminder.
HONEYMOON FLIGHT - 9:00 A.M.
I laughed so hard I almost fell into him.
He lifted me into his arms.
“No phones tomorrow.”
“Agreed.”
“No business.”
“Agreed.”
“No mysterious relatives.”
“Can’t guarantee that.”
“Lucian.”
May you like
He kissed me.
And for forty-eight glorious hours, the world finally left us alone.
